The New York Knicks have opened the 2019-20 season with a 2-9 record. Five of those losses have come in games in which the team has lost by at least 18 points. According to head coach David Fizdale, the rocky start to the year stems from the fact that many of his players want to perform at such a high level in New York that their performance is suffering.
David Fizdale says that the Knicks' struggles could be because they're putting too much pressure on themselves under the spotlight of New York:
"They want to do so well for the fanbase, I think they get tight" pic.twitter.com/GLEXqYCVmc
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) November 13, 2019
New York had a flashy, if unspectacular offseason, bringing in myriad new faces to supplement their youth movement. After whiffing on superstar additions such as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the team brought in the up-and-coming Julius Randle and Bobby Portis to go along with veterans such as Taj Gibson and Marcus Morris.
Putting all that talent on one NBA squad and churning out a winner has not proven to be easy, as evidenced by the fact that the whispers that once surrounded Fizdale have now turned into what amounts to public calls for a change up top.
The Knicks are entering a vital stretch beginning Thursday, playing three consecutive home games against teams that did not make the postseason in 2018-19. They can quickly stem the negative tide that has been building around the franchise with a few wins, or they could set off a cavalcade of negativity pub with a few more defeats.
Either way, the young stars — RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and others — will have to acclimate to the rigors of playing in New York eventually, as the team seems content to embrace their development.
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